ActionAid
Consultancy Announcement
Title of Consultancy: Endline Survey for Safe Migration and Decent Work in Peri-urban Areas of Yangon (SECURE) Project
Number of Position: 1
Timeframe: January 15, 2023 – February 28, 2023
ActionAid Myanmar
ActionAid is an international anti-poverty agency working in over 45 countries, taking sides with poor people to end poverty together. ActionAid Myanmar’s approach is building capacity among youth and supporting them to work for the community for short- and long-term development for their own community. One of its main programs is participatory community development (includes livelihood, health, education, women’s rights, DRR etc.); through fellowship for young people to promote development in Myanmar. ActionAid Myanmar has been working in partnership with Government, the local and national NGOs in different states and divisions.
Background
ActionAid Myanmar, with the support from Livelihood and Food Security Trust Fund (LIFT), is implementing Safe Migration for Decent Work in Peri-Urban Areas of Yangon (SECURE) project with the focus on promoting the rights and the well-being of the migrant workers through awareness raising, legal aid, collaboration with private sector, and providing vocational trainings. The project area is in Peri-urban Areas of Yangon (Hlaing Thar Yar, Dagon Myothit-South, Seikkan townships) and Detla Areas (Pyapon, Pathein, Ngapudaw) and Dryzone (Meikhtila, Myaing), where there is a concentration of factory workers from all over Myanmar. The project ended in December 2022 and as planned, AAM will conduct an endline evaluation of the project. The consultant will directly report to the Head of Program Quality and Research and will work in collaboration with PQR Manager and Consortium Manager to complete this assignment.
Project Overview
The project is aligned to LIFT outcomes:
LIFT Outcomes 1: Knowledge and competencies of migrant workers, their households and their communities are increased on safe migration, labour rights, and vocational skills. Increased resilience to economic crisis and health emergencies for migrant workers and their families.
LIFT Outcomes 2: Systems are enhanced to increase availability of safe and fair workplaces, worker empowerment and protection.
LIFT Outcomes 3: Evidence-based policy frameworks are strengthened on labor rights protection, labour organizing, and workplace standards.
Project Outcomes
1.1 Vulnerable migrant workers (primarily women) in the garment sector and other industries adopt safer migration paths and have increased knowledge about employment rights and entitlement, access to information about their new workplace and role, strengthen social peer networks
1.2 Vulnerable, migrant workers (primarily women) in the garment sector and other industries have increased agency
1.3 Vulnerable Migrant workers (including the garment sector) are supported to develop professional and personal skills through vocational and basic skills training
2.1 Enhanced capacity and security of private sector and civil society/labor rights organizations to have increased capacity to prevent labor abuses and provide safe workplaces
2.2 Improved practices related to employment, operations, and environmental aspects at the model factories
3.1 Compelling and diverse evidence based develop to drive collective civil society advocacy efforts to increase private sector, and union accountability
3.2 Civil Society and Labor rights organizations regularly contribute to regional and global advocacy, to increase global awareness of garment sector working conditions
Rationale of the Study
SECURE in the Peri-Urban Area of Yangon (SECURE) project was implemented for over two years (October 2019 – December 2022- second phase) to provide access to information and expand opportunities for the decent work throughout the migration pathway. The project ended in December 2022. Therefore, ActionAid Myanmar is interested to assess the project performance by an independent consultant to confirm whether the project was able to achieve its stated objectives; and the project was able to produce impact among the targeted stakeholders. The project has, in its project proposal, drawn a plan for regular monitoring and evaluation of activities and project progress to achieve the expected results and objectives. The SECURE project is, therefore, to be evaluated at the end of the project cycle, where the final evaluation will be conducted between January to February 2023. The final evaluation will be based on the Logical Framework and supplemental planning. The primary audience of this evaluation includes:
- The staff and members of project partners who will use the recommendations and lessons learnt for future project design; and,
- The donor, for assessing the effective and efficient use of the funding to achieve stated goals and results of the project.
Objectives
The overall objective of the endline survey is to study the project performance against desired outputs, outcomes and impact committed in the project proposal and to have a clear roadmap for the future after the current project completes. The objectives includes:
- To better understand reach and impact of the programme at individual (households), system and policy levels.
- To identify both strengths and weaknesses perspectives in the form of good practices and lesson learned.
The consultant is expected to cover following aspects in particular:
- Whether the project activities have been carried out in a way consistent with the project objectives set out in the corresponding proposal
- If the project objectives have been realised or processes set in motion for their possible realisation (including the appropriateness of the project’s theory of change); and if so,
- The extent to which the project has contributed to changes, especially for the project beneficiaries, in line with the purpose of the project.
- To provide learning to the AAM team for future projects
Methodology
A specific approach for the endline study should be developed, by addressing both qualitative and quantitative methods. The endline study shall lead to conclusions based on objective, credible, reliable and valid findings and shall provide AAM with lessons learned during the project implementation period and a set of operational and useful recommendations incorporating programmatic interventions/roadmap that AAM has to consider in order to consolidate, scale up and sustain existing achievements. Furthermore, the study also needs to assess whether conflict sensitivity and gender approaches have been adequately integrated into the programme and what impact has the project led to for women and men in all their diversity. Additional aspects may be suggested by the evaluation team based on the progress of their work.
A number of specific endline survey questions will be elaborated to assess the aforementioned criteria. These questions serve firstly as a way of articulating the key requirements of the study, secondly to articulate the key strategic issues of the project, and thirdly as a means of ensuring that the relevant objectives, obligations and activities in the project are covered. In doing so, the evaluators will visit the project locations to meet key stakeholders and beneficiaries and collect data and information as well as facilitate one reflective lessons workshop comprising partners and key individuals involved in the project. This will provide review to assess progress achieved, identify challenges and outcomes achieved during implementation and make recommendations for future programming.
Heading
Lines of Enquiry
Impact/outcome assessment
- What are the most significant changes the project has contributed? Are these scalable” or “replicable” results?
- How did the project caused higher-level effects (such as changes in norms or systems)?
- Did all the target groups, including men and women, the most disadvantaged and vulnerable, benefit equally from the project?
- Is the project transformative – did it create enduring changes in norms – including gender norms – and systems, whether intended or not?
- Has the programme had any unintended results? What led to these results? Are they positive or negative? Has the project been able to strengthen existing positive initiatives?
- To what extend the project was gender and conflict sensitive?
Value for Money
- How well are resources being used to produce intended result (outputs, outcomes, and impacts) in the most cost-effective way possible, as compared to feasible alternatives in the context?
Lessons Learned
- Linked to the findings from the previous sections, the evaluator will document key lessons learnt, identifying overall examples of good practice (what worked well, what had an impact), constraints and barriers met in implementation.
Recommendations
- Based on the findings of the previous sections, the review will outline clear, concise and useful suggestions and highlight opportunities in going forward.
- What should be done in the future to strengthen effectiveness and impact of similar project?
- How can the achievements be strengthened and potentially expanded in similar project resulting in long-term sustainability?
Scope of Work, Specific Duties and Responsibilities
The selected consultant will be responsible to undertake a participatory endline survey to better understand the effectiveness of overall outcomes and tangible intermediate outcomes for the targeted groups and other stakeholders who participated in the project. The responsibilities under this role will include:
- Desk review of proposals including for approved revision, previous project reports, progress reports, baseline report, documents and financial reports and any other documents related to the scope of this assignment.
- Participatory endline survey planning and review; Review and identification of the following:
- Project Theory of Change (re-examine the ToC) for review
- Project activities and milestones – against plans – what changed etc.
- Project indicators/ log frame etc.
- Contextual dynamics/ changes during project
- Key themes likely to come out of evaluation process
- Unintended consequences
- Focus group discussions with project beneficiaries, community members who did not benefit from the project
- Key informant interviews with implementing partners, project beneficiaries, key stakeholders who were engaged in the project, those who were not engaged.
- Representative case studies covering major project interventions.
- Survey
- Initial Data analysis (gendered analysis)
- Data validation workshop
- Write up & feedback with AAM
- Produce a full report that clearly captures the objectives of the work
- Sharing Evaluation findings – Sharing with Partners, beneficiaries and donor
Qualification Requirement
The ideal candidate will be experienced in conducting rigorous research, writing academic papers and reports for agencies and is familiar with the conflict in Myanmar.
Education
- Master’s degree in social science, sociology, political science, development studies or any other related field from any reputed academic institution
Experience
- A Minimum of 7 years of relevant experience in conducting evaluations of development programmes; Minimum 3-5 years’ experience working with international organisations and donors
- Proven knowledge and experience in Governance and Youth, Women’s Rights, Resilience, experience working with CSOs, youth, women and IDPs at the local level and national level in Myanmar
- Experience in high quality report writing and editing for international development agencies’ documents
Language
- Fluency in English written and spoken.
- Ability to write high quality academic report in English.
Others
- Demonstrate strong written communication, research and analytical and ability to rapidly integrate information from various sources.
- Excellent analytical, negotiation and communication skills.
- Excellent writing skills.
- Excellent presentation skills.
- Ability to work under pressure, meet deadlines and handle multiple tasks simultaneously.
- Ability to adapt quickly to crisis context, to establish and maintain good working relations with individuals of diverse backgrounds and cultures.
- Strong interpersonal skills, team spirit, innovative and takes initiative
- Technical skills in production, editing, and ability to write quickly, clearly and concisely in English.
- Ability to deliver on time as committed and be responsive to all communications from AAM.
Expected Timeframe (to deliver this work)
SN
Deliverables
Deadline
1
Developing endline plan
- Detailed methodology based on the TOR, initial meeting, and desk review, with detail timeframe, list of stakeholders to be interviewed, proposed sampling methodology.
15th January 2023
2
Review of exiting project documents and reports
18th January 2023
3
Developing Data Collection Tools and Data collection
- Develop data collection tools (quantitative and qualitative) in consultation with AAM team, and protocols for data collection and analysis, and ethical procedures to be followed.
- Data Collection by conducting interview, KII, FGD, Survey
3rd February 2023
4
Analysis and Draft Reporting
- Analyzed collected data of quantitative and qualitative
- Preliminary analysis with key findings from review of project documents and collected data
- Conducting Validation Workshop with AAM team
- Second draft report including comments made during validation
10th February 2023
5
Final Report Submission (this will include few rounds of comments exhange between AAM and the consulant beofre finalising the report
- Annexes will be included
25th February 2023
The report should be written in English and should not exceed 40 pages (Times New Roman, font size 12, single space). To complement the full report, the document should be accompanied by tools and plan for evaluation, list of documents reviewed, list of interview and FGD respondents, reference list, ToR, itinerary for field visit if possible, list of documents reviewed and data collection tools and dataset. The full report and report should be submitted electronically in a MS-Word document.
Reference in APA format will be cited after each important facts and figures. Completed checklists, methodology and plan and photos have to be submitted to AAM.
The consultant is expected to build on the evaluation plan in consultation with AAM. AAM will provide the necessary feedback upon receiving the reviewed report.
Management/Reporting
The successful candidate will report to the Head of Programme Quality and Research.
How to apply
How to apply
The applicant is required to submit 1) CV, 2) A cover letter detailing their motivation in applying for this role and why they are the best suited candidate and 3) A draft budget for this consultancy and work sample not later than 5:00 pm, 17th January 2023 through the following email address: [email protected].
Application Deadline: 17th January 2023
Please note that due to high volume of application, we only contact shortlisted candidates for interview. ActionAid reserves the right to fill the post prior to the closing date if a suitable applicant is found beforehand.
Due to urgent needs, applications will be assessed on a rolling basis.
ActionAid Myanmar is an equal opportunity employer and women are encouraged to apply. All AAM International and Myanmar Staffs/Consultants/Interns/Volunteers are required to sign and adhere with ActionAid’s SHEA and Safeguarding Policies at all times.